Kardboard Kayak Race is battle of ‘wit, design and courage’

SANTA BARBARA — If you like to build things, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) invites you to pair up with some friends to design and construct a working kayak in the 2015 Kardboard Kayak Race scheduled for July 11.

Participants will register at noon, then go on to build a kayak from 1-3 p.m. on West Beach. Teams of up to four members will receive two sheets of cardboard, one roll of tape, a marker, a utility knife, a yardstick and one hour to construct a functioning kayak.

Then the fun really begins.

Teams will paddle it out as they race against others in their heat, finding out whose design can hold up to the pressure of paddling out to a buoy and back.

The Kardboard Kayak Races are divided into separate heats, with prizes awarded to participants in the Family Fun heat (paddlers must be 14 years old or younger) and the Paddling Pros heat (geared toward adult and/or skilled competitors). Speed will be the true test.